The Waimakariri District is home to a skilled and varied work force. There are 12,200 paid employees working in the district (as at Census 2013). This is an increase of nearly 25% since 2006, which signifies the strong growth in the North Canterbury population and work force in recent times.

At last count, 96% of residents aged 15 and over in the Waimakariri District were in employment, and 75.7% of people had a formal qualification.

Although many residents leave the district each day to work (mostly in Christchurch), surveys show that the majority of them would prefer to work locally if the work was available. Those lucky enough to live and work in North Canterbury tend to be loyal employees, with key local employers reporting consistently high staff retention rates based on the preference for working and living locally.